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2wd 'Basher' for the Winter

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Any recommendations for a good basher for the winter? Criteria are:

1) 2wd (easier to clean/maintain etc)

2) Take a hardcase 2s lipo

3) Be tough and not have any known weaknesses

4) Able to take a 13.5 brushless motor I have spare

5) Be a good runner on grass/gravel/roads etc

I keep getting tempted by a Slash or some Arrma thing, but in reality I'd like to stick with Tamiya. I've already ruled out Lunchbox, Willy, Monster Beetle etc... I'd like a modern chassis. Maybe DT-03 but seen a few of them with cracked chassis etc...

Failing all of the above, I'm also toying with a Kyosho Beetle as I see they are doing another run of them

 

Any other fun suggestions that I've missed?

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I'd go for the DT-02 in Desert Gator or Sand Viper guise. The shells are a good close fit for the tub making them well-suited to winter running. The battery bay is rectangular, the gearbox is bomb-proof and easily capable of handling 13.5t. They seem pretty tough too - I haven't broken anything on mine yet.

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My DT-02 Holiday Buggy takes a terrific BEATING! I run Brushless, and whatever Martian substance that Body is made out of - it's indestructible!!

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If you can tolerate the slightly strange body shell, then how about a DT03 Aqroshot?  Probably a little more suitable for road use due to tyres.  Or a DT02 Sand Viper as mentioned above, can get them at the moment for 107 quid less ESC.

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You may not want to hear it, but your list describes a Traxxas Stampede perfectly. Tough as nails, lots of room in the chassis for whatever battery you wish, lots of ground clearance and everything is mounted up high to keep it out of the mud and snow, and fun to bash around with. I'm thinking of building a basher for the winter myself, and I'll probably revive a dead Stampede to do it.

The closest thing I can think of in the Tamiya range is the 2WD variants of the old Wild Dagger platform: Blackfoot Extreme or Mud Blaster II, I think they were?

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1 hour ago, markbt73 said:

You may not want to hear it, but your list describes a Traxxas Stampede perfectly. Tough as nails, lots of room in the chassis for whatever battery you wish, lots of ground clearance and everything is mounted up high to keep it out of the mud and snow, and fun to bash around with. I'm thinking of building a basher for the winter myself, and I'll probably revive a dead Stampede to do it.

The closest thing I can think of in the Tamiya range is the 2WD variants of the old Wild Dagger platform: Blackfoot Extreme or Mud Blaster II, I think they were?

+1,

Had a family fleet of bashers made up of 2 Madbulls and 3Nr 2WD WT-01. As we kept wrecking the WT-01's we have changed 2 of them and one of the Madbulls to Traxxas Stampedes. NOT indestructible but soooooo much more robust esp with more power and speed.

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6 minutes ago, Baddon said:

+1,

Had a family fleet of bashers made up of 2 Madbulls and 3Nr 2WD WT-01. As we kept wrecking the WT-01's we have changed 2 of them and one of the Madbulls to Traxxas Stampedes. NOT indestructible but soooooo much more robust esp with more power and speed.

+2

I know lots of folks hate Traxxas but the Stampede would be my choice.

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5 hours ago, Carmine A said:

My DT-02 Holiday Buggy takes a terrific BEATING! I run Brushless, and whatever Martian substance that Body is made out of - it's indestructible!!

Oh no it isn’t! 😢

4ABB5503-D175-431F-B9FA-9645AB976F64.jpeg

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2 hours ago, tamiya3speed said:

+2

I know lots of folks hate Traxxas but the Stampede would be my choice.

I can second this as I also have a vintage ( 90s ) Stampede That I have “resto modded” with modern parts. It handles like a less ADD version of my midnight Pumpkin and while not indestructible it is very tough and will handle 13.5t power all day long .

If you 100% want to stay Tamiya I would suggest a WR-02 platform ( although idk if it will for a standard square battery ) .

Personally, I have waterproofed my G601 King Yellow and plan run it in snow a lot this winter.( obviously not 2wd though)  
My Stampede is also waterproof and I plan on getting either a receiver box or doing the “balloon “ waterproofing to my Pumpkin before winter for some light snow driving . 
 

That said , my pumpkin still will not be my primary winter basher 

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Thanks for all the great replies. That's why I love this forum.

Some great ideas. I like the idea of a DT02. I have a spare unused Sand Scorcher body that could go on. Don't fancy an SC10. Raced one a few years ago and it was great on the track. And, I hadn't even considered the Stampede. It's certainly no 'looker' but I can see that it would bash well. 

@Xeostar That Titan looks great with those wheels/tires. Definitely a possiblity.

@Dakratfink The WR02 is probably my favourite Tamiya chassis. I have a couple of Wild Willy 2's. They won't take hardcase square edged lipos but are a lot of fun. 

 

I have also just noticed that Tamiya are doing another run of the Novafox, so that could also be a contender i guess. Always liked the look of the Fox. We'll see.

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If you are considering a Stampede, I believe the Bigfoot is on the Stampede chassis but with a more classic looking Truck body. They run on a 8.4v battery in them. I came close to getting one a while ago. Still on the hit list under the right circumstances 😉

14646F8F-754A-45D6-B996-9887923CE48B.md.

There is also the Blitzer Beetle too. If your also keen for a V-dub. With a very small amount of trimming to the internal ribs that are shaped for round packs (does fill up with muck though off road!!) will take a Square Pack LiPo.

My Stadium Blitzer hasn’t broken anything on a 1060 BL HW ESC and 13.5 motor. Although the stock rear tyres don’t last 5 minutes, (swap them for some Pro Lines or Schumachers). The next step with either be a hotter motor or 3s, more than likely 3s.
 

Have fun deciding. 

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i love my sandviper but it has been mentioned so i would go with this https://www.modelsport.co.uk/corally-triton-sp-2wd-monster-truck-1-10-brushed-rtr/rc-car-products/444076

or this https://www.modelsport.co.uk/corally-triton-xp-2wd-monster-truck-1-10-bushless-rtr/rc-car-products/444072

very modern design compared to the stampede, the brushless one is pshycotic out the box on a 2s lipo, dad was impressed with my brushed one so bought the brushless one, i put a old spare brushless into the the brushed one and it is a nice middle ground with 3250 kv and i think a 32 pitch 10 tooth pinion :)

 

edit: only real down side is the servo savers suck but that is easily fixed :P

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52 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

If you are considering a Stampede, I believe the Bigfoot is on the Stampede chassis but with a more classic looking Truck body. They run on a 8.4v battery in them. I came close to getting one a while ago. Still on the hit list under the right circumstances 😉

14646F8F-754A-45D6-B996-9887923CE48B.md.

There is also the Blitzer Beetle too. If your also keen for a V-dub. With a very small amount of trimming to the internal ribs that are shaped for round packs (does fill up with muck though off road!!) will take a Square Pack LiPo.

My Stadium Blitzer hasn’t broken anything on a 1060 BL HW ESC and 13.5 motor. Although the stock rear tyres don’t last 5 minutes, (swap them for some Pro Lines or Schumachers). The next step with either be a hotter motor or 3s, more than likely 3s.
 

Have fun deciding. 

The BIGFOOT is in fact a Stampede chassis. I run the Bigfoot Tires on my stampede resto mod. They are a split profile like a short course tire and IMHO grip on al surfaces better than the hard compound standard Talons 

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2 hours ago, xzenonuk said:

i love my sandviper but it has been mentioned so i would go with this https://www.modelsport.co.uk/corally-triton-sp-2wd-monster-truck-1-10-brushed-rtr/rc-car-products/444076

or this https://www.modelsport.co.uk/corally-triton-xp-2wd-monster-truck-1-10-bushless-rtr/rc-car-products/444072

very modern design compared to the stampede, the brushless one is pshycotic out the box on a 2s lipo, dad was impressed with my brushed one so bought the brushless one, i put a old spare brushless into the the brushed one and it is a nice middle ground with 3250 kv and i think a 32 pitch 10 tooth pinion :)

 

edit: only real down side is the servo savers suck but that is easily fixed :P

I’ve never tried a Corally, but I hear a lot of good things about them. I’m not sure how much support they have in The States.

There is also the Kyosho monster tracker 2wd and the Arrma Granite  Voltage 2wd

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As @berman and @Dakratfink have both pointed out - the monster truck (originally for the 'Monster Jam' variants) wheel tire combo is definitely better than the stock Stampede tires, as long as you adjust your gearing to compensate for the larger size.

A Traxxas Stampede 4x2 has a few advantages with it's higher chassis, LiPo compatible waterproof electronics straight out of the box and parts support, but all the Traxxas 2WD vehicles have some well documented flaws. I see this as a positive - because a 20+ year old design has heaps of aftermarket support to fix them, leaving you with a fairly indestructible winter basher! One thing to consider though - the Rustler 4x2 has a lower CoG and as a result substantially better handling, and 95% of the same parts.

This is the one I use for skate parks - plenty of RPM parts (esp. wide bumper), completely stock electronics and a JConcepts 'Raptor' body (which isn't quite right in the wheelbase - don't get this one).

615350678_2019-12-2510_30_06.thumb.jpg.bb98aac4459013007b3222f1c390bd47.jpg

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1 hour ago, Dakratfink said:

I’ve never tried a Corally, but I hear a lot of good things about them. I’m not sure how much support they have in The States.

There is also the Kyosho monster tracker 2wd and the Arrma Granite  Voltage 2wd

do not touch the kyosho monster tracker 2  with a barge pole, dad bought one of them, no end of problems and heats up motors hot enough to melt solder tabs....... no matter what motor we put in it.

im drunk heres a thread i made on another forum about the triton https://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/forums/topic/241833-any-one-tried-the-team-corally-triton/

 

 

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I'm surprised more people haven't recommended Stadium Thunder/Blitzer/Beetle. Not a modern chassis, but ticks all the other boxes...

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